Users, such as designers, decorators, painters, and do-it-yourself homeowners, have been painting surfaces for hundreds of years. While there have been significant advancements in the chemical compositions of paints to increase durability, simplify use, improve application, and reduce toxicity, the most important consideration for most users, particularly in interior locations, is the creation and selection of a desired color. More specifically, users attempt to select paint colors that match or enhance the style and color scheme of a particular room or fit a specific geographic location.
With the development of advanced computer technology, most home improvement retailers and paint supply retailers have well-known computer programs and systems that can match any desired color that a user brings to the retailer. Thus, for instance, if the user wishes to exactly match a color of a particular fabric, the fabric color can be input into the computer system, a paint formulation can be developed to effectively match the color of the selected fabric, and sufficient quantities of that paint can be produced. While the ability to match the color of a particular fabric and the like has provided users with significantly more flexibility in creating and selecting colors for wall paint, undesirable results often occur due to the fact that there is no effective substitute for actually painting a portion of a wall surface, allowing it to dry, and then considering the end result. In order to overcome this shortfall, certain paint manufactures have begun selling paints in smaller, sample-sized quantities. A user would need to go to a retailer, select what appears to be a desired color, paint a small portion of the wall surface, allow the paint to dry, and then conclude whether the paint is desirable. If the dried paint color is undesirable, the user would need to make an additional trip to the retailer to select another sample-sized paint or have another can of white paint to lighten the original color and create a new paint chip. Even if a desired result was achieved, the user would need to return to the retailer to purchase additional quantities of paint. Moreover, if a designer (or homeowner) wishes to see several variations of colors for different walls within a room or for multiple rooms, numerous sample-sized paint containers would need to be purchased. The process is both time-consuming and expensive.
Even when sold in sample-sized quantities, the consumer may not be satisfied with any of the offered pre-mixed colors. Sometimes, users will resort to creating a formula whereby they will add additional measured quantities of white paint to a color slightly darker than the desired result to create a suitable color. Regrettably, this technique requires the purchase of additional paints and replication of the desired formula mix is not always effectively achieved because of confusion as to the desired formula or due to the ineffectiveness of mixing the colors. The result could be a wall surface having slightly different hues.
It should also be noted that when a decorator is remodeling an entire home, the process of creating and selecting a desired resultant color is further complicated due to the necessity of mixing/choosing colors for each room. Multiple sample-sized paint containers and formulations are required. This results in an even greater expenditure of time, effort and money. Additionally, the multitude of paint cans and disposal of unused paints creates undesirable environmental issues.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved system and method for creating and selecting a paint color to be applied to a wall surface.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved system and method for creating and selecting a paint color to be applied to a wall surface that can be easily carried in a self-contained kit, which can be used for multiple surfaces and/or rooms.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved system and method for creating and selecting a paint color to be applied to a wall surface that can easily be adopted for numerous rooms without additional cost.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved system and method for creating and selecting a paint color to be applied to a wall surface that requires no measurements or created formulations.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a new and improved system and method for creating and selecting a paint color to be applied to a wall surface that provides a means to easily keep track of desired and undesirable results.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved system and method for creating and selecting a paint color to be applied to a wall surface that requires less waste and is thus more environmentally friendly.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and the drawings.